Chapter 2: Breaking off the Engagement

Gu Zehua furrowed his brows tightly. Being disturbed so late at night had already made him annoyed, and now he had even less patience for Gu Jinshu.
“What are you making a fuss about again?”

In the past, he had lavished the utmost love on Gu Chuxue, and Gu Chuxue had lived up to expectations—ever since she was a child, she had always been the teacher’s model student, and with excellent grades, she was admitted to Beijing Dance Academy. From childhood to adulthood, she had won countless honor certificates and trophies, never once giving them any trouble.

But suddenly they learned that such an outstanding daughter was not their biological child!

Their real daughter, Gu Jinshu, had suffered all these years, barely attended school, was practically half-illiterate. What good was beauty? He found it hard to accept. And inevitably, resentment toward Gu Jinshu welled up inside him. Damn the Sheng family!

“I’m not making a fuss,” Gu Jinshu’s voice remained flat, without a trace of emotion.

Beside her, Lin Qinghai took a deep breath.
“Jinshu, we were all very worried about your safety. We thought you weren’t at home tonight. We just came back, and now you’re making a scene about leaving? That’s far too immature!”

“Lin Qinghai, let’s call off the engagement.” Gu Jinshu cast him a sideways glance.

Lin Qinghai froze. “You… what did you say?”

“Let’s call off the engagement,” Gu Jinshu repeated.

Being dumped by a woman hurt his pride.
“You really are making trouble! I already told you—there’s nothing dirty going on between me and Chuxue! You—”

“What about me?” Gu Jinshu abruptly raised her voice, cutting him off.
“I think you’re the classic case of wanting to play the whore while still pretending to be pure! Is it really that I’m thinking dirty, or is it that you two are doing dirty things? You know exactly what’s been going on between you two. Why do we have to lay it all out here? Weren’t you already planning to break off the engagement with me anyway?”

She said it on purpose so everyone could hear clearly.

The small courtyard of the Gu family’s two-story Western-style house didn’t block sound. Neighbors could hear everything. At this hour, people were just getting up, washing up, and getting ready for work. People love a spectacle—after that shout, the courtyard gate and even the walls were lined with “onlookers.”

Lin Qinghai’s mouth twitched. “Chuxue and I are completely innocent.”

“Innocent?” Gu Jinshu sneered, then strode over to Gu Chuxue in a few steps and suddenly yanked open her collar.

“Ah—!” Gu Chuxue cried out in shock. The mottled, ambiguous red marks covering her neck stood out vividly.

“Oh my, could these be mosquito bites in the middle of winter?” someone in the crowd joked.

Mosquitoes in winter? Of course not—it had to be from a man’s mouth.

Everyone had heard about the Gu family’s switched daughters—the real daughter was Gu Jinshu. Tsk, tsk. She’d only been back less than a year, and Gu Chuxue had already hooked up with Jinshu’s fiancé.

Gu Chuxue’s face turned pale as she clutched her collar shut, her chest heaving violently. Without thinking, she blurted, “What right do you have to judge me? I saw you messing around with some random man just last night!”

“Which eye of yours saw that?” Gu Jinshu’s dark eyes turned sharp, as if to say that if Chuxue spoke another word, she’d gouge her eyes out.

Gu Chuxue shrank back behind Lin Qinghai. “Brother Qinghai…”

Lin Qinghai frowned inwardly—Gu Chuxue was truly brainless! Accusing someone in front of so many people required evidence. Without it, public opinion would turn against them, and no matter how much they explained, they’d never clear their names.

“Jinshu, I know ever since you came back, you’ve felt that Uncle and Aunt don’t love you the same way they love Chuxue, and you’re very insecure.” Lin Qinghai softened his voice, his eyes turning red for effect. “But don’t forget—Chuxue has been in the Gu family for so many years, she has deep feelings for Uncle and Aunt. People form bonds over time. Why force them to send Chuxue away?”

“And as for accusing us of improper relations… those marks on Chuxue’s neck are just an allergic reaction from the weather lately.”

Niu Chunli (Mother Gu) instantly understood and joined in scolding Gu Jinshu. “Jinshu, stop making things hard for us, sob sob…”

In a blink, Gu Jinshu was made out to be the unfilial, unreasonable troublemaker.

Clap clap—

Applause rang out.

Gu Jinshu clapped for their performance. “With acting this good, it’s a real shame you’re not on the stage.”

Niu Chunli’s hand-covering-her-face sob froze. “What?”

“Your daughter’s been feeling nauseous lately. Her pulse is like rolling beads.” Gu Jinshu raised an eyebrow. “I’d say she’s pregnant, right?”

“Oh, your pulse isn’t bad, but your body’s weak. And since you miscarried before and never took care of your health afterward, the child in your belly won’t survive.”

Gu Chuxue’s face turned pale again. How did Gu Jinshu know?! How could she possibly know?!

Miscarried? Lin Qinghai’s brows knitted so tightly they could crush a fly.

“Who taught you to talk like this?!” Gu Zehua’s face turned dark as he raised his hand to slap her.

But Gu Jinshu wasn’t the type to be bullied—she grabbed his wrist and squeezed hard.

Pain flashed across Gu Zehua’s face. “It hurts… let go!!”

Gu Jinshu flung his hand away in disgust. “You never raised me a single day, you have no right to hit me. Gu Zehua, today I’m not only breaking off the engagement, I’m also cutting all ties with this family. As my biological father, you can’t tell right from wrong and you condone your adopted daughter scheming against your real daughter—aren’t you afraid of retribution?”

Gu Zehua’s mouth twitched violently. He had only brought her back to silence the gossip about him abandoning his real daughter—yet now those exact words were coming from her mouth!

“Jinshu! Say whatever you want about me, but you can’t talk like that to Dad—he has heart disease!” Gu Chuxue cried, accusing her again.

Gu Jinshu’s hands itched.

She wasn’t one to indulge Chuxue. She strode forward, grabbed her collar, and—slap slap—delivered two hard blows, making Gu Chuxue see stars.

Lin Qinghai and Gu Zehua wanted to step in, but seeing the gathered crowd of neighbors, they didn’t dare take sides.

Gu Jinshu shook her wrist. “As for whether what I said is true or not, everyone will see soon enough! Either way, the child in her belly won’t survive—she’ll have to go to the hospital for treatment.”

Then she leaned closer to Gu Chuxue’s ear and lowered her voice. “If you have a miscarriage and don’t go to the hospital, you know it could kill you, right~”

With that, Gu Jinshu picked up her suitcase and strode away.

Niu Chunli clutched her chest, gasping sharply, her body swaying. It was over! Completely over!

It had all happened so fast—just as she was about to say something, Gu Jinshu was already gone.